| Dravidosaurus Temporal range: Late Cretaceous |
|
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Sauropsida |
| Order: | ?Plesiosauria |
| Genus: | Dravidosaurus Yadagiri & Ayyasami, 1979 |
| Species | |
|
|
Dravidosaurus (meaning "Dravidanadu lizard", Dravidanadu being a region in the southern part of India where the remains were discovered) is a genus of prehistoric reptile which was once thought to be the last surviving stegosaur, the group of "plated" dinosaurs. With an estimated length of 3 metres (10 ft), it would have also been the smallest member of the group.[1] More recent studies, however, have shown that the bones actually belonged to a plesiosaurian marine reptile.
Dravidosaurus lived in the Late Cretaceous period (Coniacian stage) of what is now India. It is only known from a poorly preserved skeleton containing a partial skull, a tooth and some elements initially interpreted as plates. The badly weathered remains were discovered in marine deposits of the state of Tamil Nadu in South India.[2] During the 1990s, further study indicated it was a plesiosaur and not a dinosaur.[3]